Review: Switch Galaxy On PSM

The Vita’s PlayStation Mobile shop is slowly building a neat little library of pocket money games, with titles such as Life of Pixel, Alien Breed, Rock Boshers DX and Super Crate Box well worth a closer look. The latest title to zoom on to this section on the store is Switch Galaxy, a high-speed racer which takes its graphical style from games such as Frequency and Audiosurf.

The aim is simply to get from one planet to the next in an allotted time by racing across tracks littered with obstacles and power-ups. The player doesn’t control acceleration, and is instead left to concentrate on weaving around the strips of track – not an easy task given the game’s breakneck speed.

But while high speed antics are eventually laid before the player, the game does take a while to hit its stride. Infuriating tutorial messages pop up constantly in the opening sections, pausing the game just when you’re getting into the swing of things. It’s incredibly frustrating and completely unnecessary – why not leave the player to figure out stuff on their own?

However, when everything clicks into place, it becomes a breathless high speed test of dexterity.
It’s a thrill to weave perfectly through the intricate levels but it’s also a challenge. The track angles change perspective and this slight visual variance makes things especially tricky, especially when you hit a speed ramp on the brow of an elevated section and are then asked to quickly change lanes to avoid a whole heap of trouble a millisecond later.

Cash can be picked up on the track and spent between sectors on upgrading your ship to help you navigate your way through some exceptionally tricky sections. Even once sectors have been conquered, challenge modes open up to test the player’s survival skills.

Switch Galaxy’s high-speed tricks lose their shine after repeated play, however, it’s a great little time waster and perfect for short five-minute bursts when you’re out and about. Just don’t blink when you’re playing!

Available now on the PlayStation Store for a bargain price of just £1.99!

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I'm Scott Munro - former games columnist at the Scottish Daily Record. In 2010, I was shortlisted for Regional Games Columnist of the Year at the Games Media Awards. I've also scribbled words for IGN UK, Game People and the Sunday Mirror's games page.